| (a) The commission recognizes the need for periodic
reevaluations and thoughtful selection necessary for the growth and
proper care of collections. To maintain the integrity of the State
Archives holdings, items may be reappraised by staff to determine
if they still meet professional appraisal criteria and comply with
the agency's acquisition policy. Items that do not meet professional
appraisal criteria and are not in compliance will be considered for
deaccession.
(b) Deaccession may be appropriate for items:
(1) That were never appraised or are not subject to
archival review according to the creating agency's approved records
retention schedule;
(2) Whose retention period has changed from permanent
to nonpermanent according to the creating agency's approved records
retention schedule;
(3) That are duplicates of other items in the State
Archives if such duplicates are found in records of a separate state
agency or in a separate non-state agency collection;
(4) That are reproductions of archival materials owned
by other individuals or repositories;
(5) Whose condition has deteriorated to a point that
they are unstable or endanger staff or other items;
(6) The agency cannot properly access or store;
(7) That are permanently closed, in whole or in part,
by the creating agency;
(8) That do not meet the requirements of the agency's
current acquisition policy; or
(9) Approved on a case-by-case basis for deaccession
for other reasons not listed above.
(c) Items may only be deaccessioned if a majority of
the Deaccession Workgroup votes to recommend deaccession and the state
archivist approves. The state archivist will notify the director and
librarian prior to final approval of deaccessioning of items.
(d) The agency will determine the appropriate method
by which to dispose of a deaccessioned item, which may include, but
is not limited to, the following:
(1) Items may be transferred to a repository with an
appropriate collecting scope;
(2) Items that are state records will be destroyed
by the agency;
(3) For any other non-government records, the agency
will make a reasonable effort to locate the original donor to return
the deaccessioned item, unless the donor claimed a charitable donation
tax deduction. To return a donated item to the original donor:
(A) Donor(s) must sign a written acknowledgment attesting
to the fact that a tax deduction was not claimed;
(B) If the donor is deceased, any claimant requesting
return in lieu of the donor must present a notarized statement that
he/she is either the sole party at interest or authorized to represent
all parties at interest, along with providing supporting proof; and
(C) If the original donor cannot be located, these
items may be offered to another repository or destroyed;
(4) Any item whose condition could endanger individuals
or other items will be destroyed; and
(5) The sale of any deaccessioned materials will be
approved by the Commission and the funds will be used to preserve
state archival records and other historical resources and to make
the records and resources available for research.
(e) If an item or collection of items approved for
deaccession has been logged in the accession log as "on loan' to the
agency or has unknown provenance, staff will follow the procedures
in Property Code, Chapter 80 (relating to Ownership, Conservation,
and Disposition of Property Loaned to Museum) regarding ultimate disposition
of the item or items.
(f) Upon deaccession, the agency relinquishes title
to the object or collection, except in the case of theft or loss.
If deaccessioning is due to theft or loss, the agency will retain
title to the item for the state in case it is ever recovered.
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